Ark of Taste

Wild Catfish

As recently as the 1970’s, Americans – particularly Southerners – ate only wild catfish from both salt and fresh waters. The proliferation of farm raised catfish and their promotion led most Americans to believe that the farm-raised product was cleaner and therefore better. Today there are only a small handful of wild catfishermen left. Many of these fishermen still use the traditional hoop nets, a style that was taught to the Cajuns by the American Indians of the region. The Wild catfish is buttery and has a creamy texture. Its flavor and consistency make wild catfish superior in taste to farm raised catfish.